Just friends
by CloudEclipse
Summary: What would happen if Jace and Clary had grown up together as best friends? Will they realise there is something more before Jace leaves for college? And what if the new girl has her heart set only for Jace? Are they really better off as just best friends? Is he better off as a player? AU. Rated T :)


**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the TMI series**

"By the time I'm done with you, you're just going to be another blood stain in my once white carpet."

"Please, have mercy on me- "

"Lucifer was never bestowed mercy, and you will not get treated any differently. I will first cut all your pretty hair- "

The screen shot black as the machine suddenly shut down.

"Right, I think that's enough of that for one evening. Don't you?"

Jace groaned and rolled his eyes as he sat up on the bed they were huddled on, being careful not to knock the laptop as he went. He peered down at the girl next to him who had her duvets swaddled around her like fortification.

"Are you serious? We were finally getting somewhere with this crap. The least we could have done was watch that one scene."

Clary made no reply at first and instead squinted her eyes up at him long and hard, just like her mother had always taught her to.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're a psychopath."

"I prefer creative. Even uniquely minded would do."

Clary pursed her lips and rolled off her bed, which consequently made her old vinyl's fall off her shelf onto the floor.

"I can't believe you still have those things," Jace said whilst cracking his back and next his knuckles. "You've had them since you were 13."

"14 actually," she replied as she carefully picked them up, trying but failing not to scratch the delicate tops.

"What are you? Some kind of emo?"

"It's grunge, idiot."

Jace exhaled, but it was nothing less than fond exasperation.

"As your best friend, I see it only as my duty to tell you that having those old disk things are not cool seeing as you are nearly 17."

"And as your best friend I equally see it as my duty to tell you that you can be a right dick sometimes."

Jace looked back at her, his mouth struggling to find something to say. With a huff, he stood up and paced to the door.

"What? No retort. But you're the famous Jace Herondale!" Clary continued, her eyes dancing with mocking delight as she jumped back into bed in a less then elegant fashion.

"Very funny Fray. I can't always think of witty comebacks."

In the room's darkness he almost looked holographic and his hair was tinged with gold speckled moon dust. Clary could see why the girls at her school found him so insanely attractive. To be honest, she herself had once upon a time had a slight crush on him. But that was only because she had been 13 and her hormones had crashed in like an unexpected aunt at Christmas and he had been pretty much the only boy she had ever known.

"See you tomorrow Jace."

"Before I go on my long and painful trek home- "

"You literally live next door."

Jace grinned at her, his eyes flashing in the low light like a cats.

"You really need to get rid of those moth-eaten records that you like to call collectibles. It will do you no favours in life and frankly they are hideous."

Clary willed herself to keep her mouth firmly shut. This was for two reasons, the first one being that she didn't want to wake up her parents or her brother. The second reason was that she had a small trick up her sleeve. Clary knew for a fact that if she was quiet for too long after one of Jace's 'sick' burns that he would feel guilty. And sometimes she just loved making him feel bad. A few beats passed and Clary watched in hidden delight as Jace's face turned from one of a smirk to something much less.

"Wait, did I upset you?"

More silence. Jace started to move carefully towards the bed.

"Clary?"

"Ha!" Clary suddenly exclaimed, causing Jace to jump back.

"Damn you," Jace cursed, his face both annoyed and relieved at the same time.

"Now leave both me and my beautiful vinyl children alone. And get out of my room right now or I will feed you to my Venus flytrap."

Jace made a mock expression of fear and with one last word about her lack of coolness stalked out of her bedroom and down the stairs. Clary waited until she could hear the front door's distinctive click before settling back down into bed. It was still warm from where they had laid all evening watching crappy horror movies and there were scattered popcorn bits all over her mattress. Just as she was considering getting the hoover, a familiar voice startled her from the corridor.

"You're not seriously still awake, are you Clarissa?"

Clary looked up, her heart still pounding from the surprise of company.

"Maybe."

The light came on revealing her brother propped up against the doorframe, his eyes still dazed from sleep.

"It's a school night, Clarissa."

"Why do you keep calling me Clarissa?"

"Because I know you don't like it."

"Alright Sebby Webby."

"Do you want me to get Mom and Dad?"

The threat itself was enough to make her shut up.

"Were you with Jace?"

His tone of questioning made her feel slightly uneasy, as though she had committed a terrible and irredeemable crime.

"Yes, who else would I be with?"

Sebastian sighed and rubbed his temples, clearly feeling uncomfortable himself with the entire situation.

"Clary- "

"Sceb the web," she cut him off with a grin. She knew he absolutely hated that one.

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation with my little sister!" Sebastian exclaimed in annoyance, a little too loudly for Clary's liking. The last thing she needed was her parents being woken up and then she would probably be banned from her laptop for a week. They weren't strict about a lot of things, but with sleep on a school night there was no forgiveness.

"At past midnight on a Monday, wait, I mean Tuesday," Clary retorted back. Truth be told, she didn't much feel like hearing whatever Sebastian had to say. He looked so serious, and Sebastian was almost never serious unless he could help it.

"It's only your fault if you're tired tomorrow. And it's important Clary. I'm worried about you."

Clary made a face of mock surprise but beneath it she was not only agitated but also deeply confused. Her older brother was hardly ever like this to her. Usually he just liked to wind her up and get her in trouble. But his face at this moment told her otherwise.

He clearly was seriously worried about her.

"OK. Hit me with it," Clary said whilst settling herself against her pillow. If you're going to have an emotional talk with your brother, the least you can do is be comfy.

"This is the last year that Jace will be at this school before College."

"Correct."

"And you've been best friends for over a decade."

"Unfortunately."

"You spend a lot of time together."

"Well, to be fair less so as he has practice a lot and other things." By other things, Clary really meant other girls, but she preferred not to think about that side of things. She did not understand why, but it made her feel sick. Perhaps because he was like a second brother to her, and no sister takes delight in hearing about their sibling's sexual experiences.

"Yeah, I know. We do practice together."

"Then why are you saying all this stuff?"

Sebastian breathed long and hard before replying.

"I'm just worried that when he leaves, you won't know what to do with yourself. You guys have been so close for so long now and I don't think either of you have thought about life after this year."

Clary stared at him, unsure of how to reply.

"Sorry for blurting that out. I'll let you sleep on it."

"Sebast- ".

"It's late Clary. Go to sleep. I have no idea why I thought this was the right time to have this conversation."

And with that he carefully shut her door, giving her a small smile as he went.

Clary threw her head back and stretched out her limbs, trying to get into a sleep friendly position. But her brother's words kept ringing around her head. What would she do without Jace next year? This year was close to being over too. She had Isabelle and Simon, but neither of them could ever replace Jace. These days it felt like her time alone with Jace was getting smaller and smaller because of all his 'extra-curricula's'. Not that she was jealous. He could do whatever he liked; it was none of her business.

Her phone buzzed next to her, and she leaned over to read the message.

From: Jace

Time: 12:52

_Sleep well Fray. Try not to be too scared by that movie. I could tell you were scared out of your wits. Ha! Now I can imagine you scowling at the screen. Anyway, see you tomorrow. _

Suddenly her phone vibrated again, this time a message from Isabelle.

_OMG you will NEVER believe this but I have JUST heard from Helen who heard from Meliorn who heard from Raphael that the new girl has a crush on Jace! Apparently it was revealed whilst playing spin the bottle at Helen's party. I told you so! She will probably ask us for tips on how to woo him. This could really help our social position xxx._

Clary flung her phone to the other side of her bed and grimaced. Great. Another girl wanted tips on how to get off with Jace. That won't be awkward at all.

The moon was hanging low against her window frame, a place where Jace had often sat reading whilst she liked to draw. Even though they loved winding each other up, they still often enjoyed plenty of peaceful times together. Time had always flown by together, often too fast for Clary's liking.

Clary almost couldn't imagine giving that up. Would she miss him really that much? Would Jace like this new girl? Should she even care? Do animals know that other animals really exist?

So, instead of facing such unanswerable questions, she burrowed her head into her pillow and tried to catch a few winks of sleep.

[-]

"Clary."

"Clary."

"CLARY."

Clary jolted awake, her eyes adjusting to the blinding brightness of the room. She could just make out her mother peering down at her, a threatening glass of water in her left hand.

"Get up and get ready for school Clary! Otherwise you will be late."

"Mhmh."

"Clary!"

"Ten more minutes."

"No Clary-."

"Five more minutes."

"No more minutes. You've had plenty of minutes already. Time for school."

Jocelyn flicked her daughter's face until she got a response that was more than a grunt.

"OK OK I am getting ready," Clary said whilst moving her aching limbs up. She was in no mood for school today, not that she ever was.

"Breakfast is on the table, darling."

"You can't call me darling after attacking me to wake up."

"Clary there is no time for your smart comments this morning! You will be late," her mother repeated with great emphasis.

Clary watched as her mother left her bedroom and waited for the door to shut. Then, with as much energy as she could muster, she half crawled over to her wardrobe to find anything to wear.

Blue top or green top?

Brown jeans or blue jeans?

Sweater or no sweater?

It was far too early for such tedious questions.

She settled for a nice enough green top, blue jeans and no sweater as it was meant to be summer after all. After quickly brushing her teeth, putting on a pair of odd socks and raking a comb through her hair until it looked decent, she went downstairs carrying her bag as she went.

Sitting at the kitchen table was her brother and her father, both engaged in some conflict that she didn't want to get into.

"That is not the capital, Sebastian."

"Yes, it is. Look it up."

"I need not look it up because I know I am right. You look it up."

God, they could be so stubborn sometimes.

"Sit down Clary and eat fast," her mother said, appearing out of nowhere. Sometimes Clary was convinced that her mother was a cat- she could move around so quietly when she wanted to.

"Good morning, Clary," her father greeted as she sat down to pile her plate with breakfast items.

"Morning," she replied, in-between mouthfuls of pancakes.

Then, as carefully as possible, she swiftly swept her gaze towards her brother. She was still conscience of their somewhat uncomfortable late night conversation.

As luck would have it, her brother seemed normal, as though he had forgotten all about it. She eyed him suspiciously as he ate his breakfast, hoping that if he caught sight of her menacing stare, he would feel it right to never talk about that horrifying subject again.

But instead he got up to clear his plate, and before long he was dragging himself upstairs to get his bags for school.

Her thoughts dangerously returned to her brother's words from the night before. Would Jace really forget all about her next year? Did he care about leaving? Was he sad or happy about the situation? Would Jace like the new girl more than her?

Clary mentally slapped herself for such a stupid question. Why should she care about this new girl? As if she wouldn't like Jace. Despite his annoying attitude and goofy grin there was a genuinely nice guy who actually sometimes cared too much about people. Clary remembered a distant memory from many years ago, when her toy rabbit had disappeared and Jace had spent two nights solidly searching for it.

He didn't stop until he had found it.

But Clary told herself that it didn't matter even if she liked him; it was none of her business, anyway.

A sharp knock at the door pulled her from her memories.

"Sebastian! Clary! Get the door and don't be late!" her mother shrieked from upstairs.

There was a loud thudding noise as Sebastian swung into view as he raced towards the door. Before he got there, he tousled Clary's hair making her hit his arm in pure rage. She had brushed her hair this morning for once! She made a mental note to get him back as soon as possible.

Then, with one last goodbye from the two siblings, they ran out of the house, not realising what a day they were getting themselves into.

[-]

**Hm Clary are you sure you see Jace as a best friend only?**

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!**

**BTW Clary is very sarcastic in this story...(hehehe I like her like that)**

**Leave a review if you can :)**


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